Crews clean up Monday after UP train derails in Kansas

MCPHERSON, Kan. (AP) — Crews continued to clean up Monday after a train derailment a day earlier in McPherson that spilled denatured alcohol and caused a grass fire.

Officials said 13 cars of the Union Pacific train came off the tracks Sunday morning and two cars carrying the alcohol leaked. There were no injuries reported.

McPherson Fire Chief TJ Wyssmann said the denatured alcohol that leaked did get into a nearby stream but the spill was contained before it was able to reach Wolf Creek.

“There is no reason to have cause for concern,” Wyssmann said. “The product did get into a tributary and we quickly, with some assistance, got the tributary (contained) … So we stopped that product from getting into Wolf Creek or further from the actual site of the incident.”

Firefighters were also able to extinguish the grass fire quickly.

Railroad safety has been in the spotlight ever since last month’s fiery derailment outside East Palestine, Ohio. The major freight railroads have announced a number of steps they are taking to strengthen the network of detectors alongside tracks they use to spot mechanical problems before they can cause a derailment. But federal regulators have said the railroads need to do more than they have announced.